Below is a check list of steps that a lead organization should take to develop a community-wide literacy initiative.

CComponent 1:

Strategies for Community/Organizational Mobilization for

Adolescent Literacy

A community effort to address the adolescent literacy crisis can have a

myriad of strategies. Of course, no two communities are alike, nor should

the strategies be the same. Below are some suggestions to help galvanize

a community to increase literacy development:

Create and Expand Awareness, Understanding and Urgency: Print

materials, public information campaigns, religious sermons, billboards

and presentations centered on the adolescent literacy crisis nationally and

locally help to inform a community about the issue.

Provide Leadership, Take the Lead: A lead organization can take the initial

step to organize an education summit, community meetings, and forums to

generate momentum for a community adolescent literacy initiative.

Provide Training and Education: Community-based workshops can be

sponsored or courses developed that train parents/guardians on literacy.

Also, speakers can be invited to address the issue and help inform the

community of viable strategies to combat the adolescent literacy crisis.

Develop, Revise, Enhance Programs and Services: Organizations,

especially a lead organization, should add a literacy component to out-of-

school time programs and youth development activities or seek funding to

develop adolescent literacy programming.

Check List

• Astheleadorganization,gatheranddisseminatedataonthescopeoftheadolescentliteracyproblem.

• Meetone-on-onewithcommunityleaders,schoolofficialsandotherstakeholders/organizationstoidentifysharedinterestsandprovideavisionforhowliteracycanbeintegratedwithothercommunityinitiatives.

• Convenemeetings,forumsorsummitstofurtherbuildcommunityawarenessanddeveloppartnershipsaroundadolescentliteracy.

• Developkeypartnershipswithcommunityleaders,schoolofficialsandotherstakeholders/organizationsthatincorporatestrategicplanningandprogrammaticoutcometargetsforanadolescentliteracyinitiative.

• Periodicallyevaluatetheeffectivenessofthecommunitymobilizationforadolescentliteracyefforts.

4See Mobilizing Communities to Support the Literacy Development of Urban Youth, pg. 31

Copyright© 2008 by the National Urban League. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in whole or in part without written permission from the National Urban League.

Please contact the National Urban League at 120 Wall Street, New York, New York, 10005 USA. T: + 1.212.558.5300, F: +1.212.344.5332, www.nul.org, for information about reprinting and general information about this publication.

Community/organization mobilization for Adolescent Literacy

Community/organization mobilization for Adolescent Literacy

“It’shardtoimagineaconstituencyinanycommunitythatdoesnothaveastakeinliteracydevelopmentforadolescents.Parentswanttheirchildrentosucceedandbeabletoexploremultipleoptions.Employerswantworkerswhohavesolidreadingcomprehensionandcommunicationskillsthattheycanapplytoon-the-joblearningandperformance.Policymakersandelectedofficialswantvoterswhoareabletoreadandtounderstandcomplexissues.Healthandhumanserviceagencieswantpeopletobeabletosuccessfullynavigatethecomplexitiesofthesystemtogetwhattheyneed.Communitymemberswantsafeneighborhoodswhereyouthareproductivelyengaged.Educatorswanttobesuccessfulattheircoremission.Thesevaluesanddesiresareimportantcommunityassetsthatcanbemobilizedtoturntheliteracycrisis–andlivesofcountlessadolescents–around.”

– Excerpt from NUL Mobilizing Communities to Support the

Literacy Development of Urban Youth (p. 10)

In order to address the complexity of the adolescent literacy crisis and

to understand the varied conditions in which families and children live,

new systems need to be developed that will allow communities to

create or enhance their own structures of supports. The often used “one-

size-fits-all” programmatic approach will not suffice. In fact, thoughtful

coordination and collaboration among schools, businesses, community

organizations, and families to mobilize communities goes further to

promote positive change in young people’s lives and ensures greater

sustainability of programming over the long term.

Traditional community mobilization strategies focus primarily on public

awareness, in the guise of rallies, public awareness campaigns, etc.

These are helpful in increasing public understanding on an issue, but

are limited in actually addressing and eradicating a community problem.

Therefore, a useful, comprehensive community mobilization model to

address adolescent literacy entails both public awareness and clear

mechanisms for the public engagement.

Pre-Requisites for Community/Organizational Mobilization

The research on community mobilization highlights the conditions that

are needed to implement and run a successful initiative. There must be

sufficient capacity at the community level, the school district level and the

lead organization level.

Community Capacity:

A targeted community for this adolescent literacy initiative should have

some history of successful collaborative efforts – partnerships: coalitions;

and taskforces among schools, businesses, community based agencies,

faith-based organizations and citizen groups. Further, there should be

a political climate and a level of social cohesion that is conducive for

broad participation of groups. Lastly, education reform and student

achievement should be widely recognized as a collective concern and

shared interest.

School District Capacity:

The school district should have a commitment to education reform and

improved student achievement, with literacy as a priority focus, and have

a clear plan for engaging parents and community members in supporting

student achievement. The superintendent should also have a productive

relationship with the lead organization promoting the adolescent literacy

initiative. Most importantly, there should be a literacy action plan for all grade levels that includes teacher professional

development around literacy instruction.

Lead Organization Capacity:

As the Lead Organization, it is important that your organization has a mission that explicitly focuses on youth

development and also has literacy development as a programmatic priority. It should be located in a particular

community and a track record for “getting things done” in that community. Lastly, the organization’s leadership should

have a vision and commitment to community development and mobilization in this area.

A community mobilization model must incorporate (see Anderson’s 8 also):

• Asharedvision,acommonsetofgoals,objectivesandoutcomesamongstakeholders.

• Acommitmenttolong-rangestrategicplanningamongstakeholders.

• Actionplansbasedonassessmentsoflocalstrengthsandneeds(anassetmodelapproach).

• Viableimplementationstrategiesandprogrammaticstructures.

• Restructuringandleveraginglocalresources.

• Periodicevaluatingthemodel’seffectivenessoncommunities.

A Shared Vision, a Common Set of goals, Objectives and Outcomes

The National Urban League and the Urban League of Champaign County developed a Community Mobilization on

Education Equity framework that has been widely used in the Urban League movement1. One initial step to creating a

shared vision, goals and outcomes among stakeholders in a community mobilization for adolescent literacy initiative is

foranorganizationspearheadingtheprojecttohaveaclearvisionaboutitsowngoals,objectivesandoutcomesasan

organization. Before engaging in such a large endeavor to enhance adolescent literacy, a lead organization’s Board of

Directors, the CEO to the frontline staff must view the initiative as reflecting its organizational priorities, must be educated

on the initiative and be willing to leverage organizational resources to that end.

A Commitment to Long-Range Strategic Planning Among Stakeholders

Onceanorganizationisclearonitsowngoals,objectivesandoutcomes,itcanlaunchintoanefforttointeractwith

other organizations, with businesses, and with schools to build awareness and “buy in” to the initiative. This could entail

convening a meeting or an initiating an Education Summit of business leaders, principals, district administrators, school

board members, and other key stakeholders to both inform about the adolescent literacy challenge in your community by

providing data such summaries of state assessment results, national, state and local comparisons of student performance

in reading and writing; and subsequently, promote an action by all those present. One crucial step is generating some

outcome targets for the initiative2. Subsequently, a series of working groups can emerge from the summit or meetings that

can set priorities, develop action plans, and facilitate larger strategic planning around this initiative.

Action Plans Based on Assessments of Local Strengths and Needs (An Asset-Based Approach3)

The action plans that emerge from working groups can entail assessing the local strengths and needs of the community

being targeted. In this endeavor, some strengths as well as some glaring needs will certainly be identified in the

community. An asset based approach to community mobilization presumes that challenges are present in communities

Community/organization mobilization for Adolescent Literacy(i.e. elevated aliteracy rates among adolescents) but also affirms that there are numerous unrecognized, untapped

or underutilized assets in a community as well.

A school district, for instance, may have strong parent engagement and/or active community members who could

possibly serve as literacy advocates in the school and neighborhood; local business groups may be willing to

work together to allocate funds to provide stipends for students who can participate in proposed literacy activities;

government officials may be willing to incorporate award ceremonies for youth who demonstrate improved literacy;

and religious leaders may be willing to stress the value of literacy through their sermons or in their congregation

events. These assets can be identified and strategically planned through the deliberate efforts of the stakeholders

involved in the initiative.

Viable Implementation Strategies and Programmatic Structures

The action plans must be converted into viable implementation strategies and programmatic structures. This

entails coordinating and aligning existing services by various stakeholders with each other to meet the proposed

adolescent literacy goals and outcome targets. For instance, a local women’s group asks university faculty to work

with teen mothers on literacy development strategies is one example of aligning services. Another example is, a

local employer establishes a book club or sends employees to trainings at a local school. His employees, in turn,

are required to serve as tutors for younger children in the community. Action plans must incorporate deliberate

planning and strategic action!

Restructuring and Leveraging Local Resources

Utilizing an asset-based approach to community mobilization for adolescent literacy requires identifying the assets

in a community. These assets (i.e. human, social, educational, environmental, monetary, political, etc) should

be leveraged to support your initiative. For instance, the lead organization may discover that there are potential

funds available through a local politician’s office to support a youth initiative that requires the collaboration with

neighborhood schools. Other resources could be restructured and leveraged through neighboring colleges, such

as college students serving as tutors for the initiative, or the use of classroom or meeting space on campus for

activities. Local colleges and universities tend to have service learning options for students which require students

to do community service in turn for academic credit. Many are also open to supporting community-college

collaborations. By bringing together various stakeholders, local resources can be discovered and used to impact

adolescent literacy in a community.

Periodic Evaluation

Once a lead organization’s initiative gets off the ground, there need to be mechanisms for evaluating the efficacy

and viability of your adolescent literacy initiative in a community. It is imperative that evaluation be included in the

strategic planning and budgeting for a community mobilization for adolescent literacy initiative. Clearly defined

outcome targets, solid programmatic structures and effective documentation of activities create fertile ground for

evaluating an initiative’s impact. More importantly, an effective evaluation can help refine programmatic areas, as well

as support fundraising efforts to sustain an initiative over the long term.

See the document Urban League of Champaign County, Community Academic Support Network 2 For more on outcomes see “Project Ready College Access Program User’s Guide”3 For more on asset-based approaches to community initiatives see “Project Ready College Access Program User’s Guide”

Community/organization mobilization for Adolescent Literacy

“It’shardtoimagineaconstituencyinanycommunitythatdoesnothaveastakeinliteracydevelopmentforadolescents.Parentswanttheirchildrentosucceedandbeabletoexploremultipleoptions.Employerswantworkerswhohavesolidreadingcomprehensionandcommunicationskillsthattheycanapplytoon-the-joblearningandperformance.Policymakersandelectedofficialswantvoterswhoareabletoreadandtounderstandcomplexissues.Healthandhumanserviceagencieswantpeopletobeabletosuccessfullynavigatethecomplexitiesofthesystemtogetwhattheyneed.Communitymemberswantsafeneighborhoodswhereyouthareproductivelyengaged.Educatorswanttobesuccessfulattheircoremission.Thesevaluesanddesiresareimportantcommunityassetsthatcanbemobilizedtoturntheliteracycrisis–andlivesofcountlessadolescents–around.”

– Excerpt from NUL Mobilizing Communities to Support the

Literacy Development of Urban Youth (p. 10)

In order to address the complexity of the adolescent literacy crisis and

to understand the varied conditions in which families and children live,

new systems need to be developed that will allow communities to

create or enhance their own structures of supports. The often used “one-

size-fits-all” programmatic approach will not suffice. In fact, thoughtful

coordination and collaboration among schools, businesses, community

organizations, and families to mobilize communities goes further to

promote positive change in young people’s lives and ensures greater

sustainability of programming over the long term.

Traditional community mobilization strategies focus primarily on public

awareness, in the guise of rallies, public awareness campaigns, etc.

These are helpful in increasing public understanding on an issue, but

are limited in actually addressing and eradicating a community problem.

Therefore, a useful, comprehensive community mobilization model to

address adolescent literacy entails both public awareness and clear

mechanisms for the public engagement.

Pre-Requisites for Community/Organizational Mobilization

The research on community mobilization highlights the conditions that

are needed to implement and run a successful initiative. There must be

sufficient capacity at the community level, the school district level and the

lead organization level.

Community Capacity:

A targeted community for this adolescent literacy initiative should have

some history of successful collaborative efforts – partnerships: coalitions;

and taskforces among schools, businesses, community based agencies,

faith-based organizations and citizen groups. Further, there should be

a political climate and a level of social cohesion that is conducive for

broad participation of groups. Lastly, education reform and student

achievement should be widely recognized as a collective concern and

shared interest.

School District Capacity:

The school district should have a commitment to education reform and

improved student achievement, with literacy as a priority focus, and have

a clear plan for engaging parents and community members in supporting

student achievement. The superintendent should also have a productive

relationship with the lead organization promoting the adolescent literacy

initiative. Most importantly, there should be a literacy action plan for all grade levels that includes teacher professional

development around literacy instruction.

Lead Organization Capacity:

As the Lead Organization, it is important that your organization has a mission that explicitly focuses on youth

development and also has literacy development as a programmatic priority. It should be located in a particular

community and a track record for “getting things done” in that community. Lastly, the organization’s leadership should

have a vision and commitment to community development and mobilization in this area.

A community mobilization model must incorporate (see Anderson’s 8 also):

• Asharedvision,acommonsetofgoals,objectivesandoutcomesamongstakeholders.

• Acommitmenttolong-rangestrategicplanningamongstakeholders.

• Actionplansbasedonassessmentsoflocalstrengthsandneeds(anassetmodelapproach).

• Viableimplementationstrategiesandprogrammaticstructures.

• Restructuringandleveraginglocalresources.

• Periodicevaluatingthemodel’seffectivenessoncommunities.

A Shared Vision, a Common Set of goals, Objectives and Outcomes

The National Urban League and the Urban League of Champaign County developed a Community Mobilization on

Education Equity framework that has been widely used in the Urban League movement1. One initial step to creating a

shared vision, goals and outcomes among stakeholders in a community mobilization for adolescent literacy initiative is

foranorganizationspearheadingtheprojecttohaveaclearvisionaboutitsowngoals,objectivesandoutcomesasan

organization. Before engaging in such a large endeavor to enhance adolescent literacy, a lead organization’s Board of

Directors, the CEO to the frontline staff must view the initiative as reflecting its organizational priorities, must be educated

on the initiative and be willing to leverage organizational resources to that end.

A Commitment to Long-Range Strategic Planning Among Stakeholders

Onceanorganizationisclearonitsowngoals,objectivesandoutcomes,itcanlaunchintoanefforttointeractwith

other organizations, with businesses, and with schools to build awareness and “buy in” to the initiative. This could entail

convening a meeting or an initiating an Education Summit of business leaders, principals, district administrators, school

board members, and other key stakeholders to both inform about the adolescent literacy challenge in your community by

providing data such summaries of state assessment results, national, state and local comparisons of student performance

in reading and writing; and subsequently, promote an action by all those present. One crucial step is generating some

outcome targets for the initiative2. Subsequently, a series of working groups can emerge from the summit or meetings that

can set priorities, develop action plans, and facilitate larger strategic planning around this initiative.

Action Plans Based on Assessments of Local Strengths and Needs (An Asset-Based Approach3)

The action plans that emerge from working groups can entail assessing the local strengths and needs of the community

being targeted. In this endeavor, some strengths as well as some glaring needs will certainly be identified in the

community. An asset based approach to community mobilization presumes that challenges are present in communities

Community/organization mobilization for Adolescent Literacy(i.e. elevated aliteracy rates among adolescents) but also affirms that there are numerous unrecognized, untapped

or underutilized assets in a community as well.

A school district, for instance, may have strong parent engagement and/or active community members who could

possibly serve as literacy advocates in the school and neighborhood; local business groups may be willing to

work together to allocate funds to provide stipends for students who can participate in proposed literacy activities;

government officials may be willing to incorporate award ceremonies for youth who demonstrate improved literacy;

and religious leaders may be willing to stress the value of literacy through their sermons or in their congregation

events. These assets can be identified and strategically planned through the deliberate efforts of the stakeholders

involved in the initiative.

Viable Implementation Strategies and Programmatic Structures

The action plans must be converted into viable implementation strategies and programmatic structures. This

entails coordinating and aligning existing services by various stakeholders with each other to meet the proposed

adolescent literacy goals and outcome targets. For instance, a local women’s group asks university faculty to work

with teen mothers on literacy development strategies is one example of aligning services. Another example is, a

local employer establishes a book club or sends employees to trainings at a local school. His employees, in turn,

are required to serve as tutors for younger children in the community. Action plans must incorporate deliberate

planning and strategic action!

Restructuring and Leveraging Local Resources

Utilizing an asset-based approach to community mobilization for adolescent literacy requires identifying the assets

in a community. These assets (i.e. human, social, educational, environmental, monetary, political, etc) should

be leveraged to support your initiative. For instance, the lead organization may discover that there are potential

funds available through a local politician’s office to support a youth initiative that requires the collaboration with

neighborhood schools. Other resources could be restructured and leveraged through neighboring colleges, such

as college students serving as tutors for the initiative, or the use of classroom or meeting space on campus for

activities. Local colleges and universities tend to have service learning options for students which require students

to do community service in turn for academic credit. Many are also open to supporting community-college

collaborations. By bringing together various stakeholders, local resources can be discovered and used to impact

adolescent literacy in a community.

Periodic Evaluation

Once a lead organization’s initiative gets off the ground, there need to be mechanisms for evaluating the efficacy

and viability of your adolescent literacy initiative in a community. It is imperative that evaluation be included in the

strategic planning and budgeting for a community mobilization for adolescent literacy initiative. Clearly defined

outcome targets, solid programmatic structures and effective documentation of activities create fertile ground for

evaluating an initiative’s impact. More importantly, an effective evaluation can help refine programmatic areas, as well

as support fundraising efforts to sustain an initiative over the long term.

See the document Urban League of Champaign County, Community Academic Support Network 2 For more on outcomes see “Project Ready College Access Program User’s Guide”3 For more on asset-based approaches to community initiatives see “Project Ready College Access Program User’s Guide”

Community/organization mobilization for Adolescent Literacy

“It’shardtoimagineaconstituencyinanycommunitythatdoesnothaveastakeinliteracydevelopmentforadolescents.Parentswanttheirchildrentosucceedandbeabletoexploremultipleoptions.Employerswantworkerswhohavesolidreadingcomprehensionandcommunicationskillsthattheycanapplytoon-the-joblearningandperformance.Policymakersandelectedofficialswantvoterswhoareabletoreadandtounderstandcomplexissues.Healthandhumanserviceagencieswantpeopletobeabletosuccessfullynavigatethecomplexitiesofthesystemtogetwhattheyneed.Communitymemberswantsafeneighborhoodswhereyouthareproductivelyengaged.Educatorswanttobesuccessfulattheircoremission.Thesevaluesanddesiresareimportantcommunityassetsthatcanbemobilizedtoturntheliteracycrisis–andlivesofcountlessadolescents–around.”

– Excerpt from NUL Mobilizing Communities to Support the

Literacy Development of Urban Youth (p. 10)

In order to address the complexity of the adolescent literacy crisis and

to understand the varied conditions in which families and children live,

new systems need to be developed that will allow communities to

create or enhance their own structures of supports. The often used “one-

size-fits-all” programmatic approach will not suffice. In fact, thoughtful

coordination and collaboration among schools, businesses, community

organizations, and families to mobilize communities goes further to

promote positive change in young people’s lives and ensures greater

sustainability of programming over the long term.

Traditional community mobilization strategies focus primarily on public

awareness, in the guise of rallies, public awareness campaigns, etc.

These are helpful in increasing public understanding on an issue, but

are limited in actually addressing and eradicating a community problem.

Therefore, a useful, comprehensive community mobilization model to

address adolescent literacy entails both public awareness and clear

mechanisms for the public engagement.

Pre-Requisites for Community/Organizational Mobilization

The research on community mobilization highlights the conditions that

are needed to implement and run a successful initiative. There must be

sufficient capacity at the community level, the school district level and the

lead organization level.

Community Capacity:

A targeted community for this adolescent literacy initiative should have

some history of successful collaborative efforts – partnerships: coalitions;

and taskforces among schools, businesses, community based agencies,

faith-based organizations and citizen groups. Further, there should be

a political climate and a level of social cohesion that is conducive for

broad participation of groups. Lastly, education reform and student

achievement should be widely recognized as a collective concern and

shared interest.

School District Capacity:

The school district should have a commitment to education reform and

improved student achievement, with literacy as a priority focus, and have

a clear plan for engaging parents and community members in supporting

student achievement. The superintendent should also have a productive

relationship with the lead organization promoting the adolescent literacy

initiative. Most importantly, there should be a literacy action plan for all grade levels that includes teacher professional

development around literacy instruction.

Lead Organization Capacity:

As the Lead Organization, it is important that your organization has a mission that explicitly focuses on youth

development and also has literacy development as a programmatic priority. It should be located in a particular

community and a track record for “getting things done” in that community. Lastly, the organization’s leadership should

have a vision and commitment to community development and mobilization in this area.

A community mobilization model must incorporate (see Anderson’s 8 also):

• Asharedvision,acommonsetofgoals,objectivesandoutcomesamongstakeholders.

• Acommitmenttolong-rangestrategicplanningamongstakeholders.

• Actionplansbasedonassessmentsoflocalstrengthsandneeds(anassetmodelapproach).

• Viableimplementationstrategiesandprogrammaticstructures.

• Restructuringandleveraginglocalresources.

• Periodicevaluatingthemodel’seffectivenessoncommunities.

A Shared Vision, a Common Set of goals, Objectives and Outcomes

The National Urban League and the Urban League of Champaign County developed a Community Mobilization on

Education Equity framework that has been widely used in the Urban League movement1. One initial step to creating a

shared vision, goals and outcomes among stakeholders in a community mobilization for adolescent literacy initiative is

foranorganizationspearheadingtheprojecttohaveaclearvisionaboutitsowngoals,objectivesandoutcomesasan

organization. Before engaging in such a large endeavor to enhance adolescent literacy, a lead organization’s Board of

Directors, the CEO to the frontline staff must view the initiative as reflecting its organizational priorities, must be educated

on the initiative and be willing to leverage organizational resources to that end.

A Commitment to Long-Range Strategic Planning Among Stakeholders

Onceanorganizationisclearonitsowngoals,objectivesandoutcomes,itcanlaunchintoanefforttointeractwith

other organizations, with businesses, and with schools to build awareness and “buy in” to the initiative. This could entail

convening a meeting or an initiating an Education Summit of business leaders, principals, district administrators, school

board members, and other key stakeholders to both inform about the adolescent literacy challenge in your community by

providing data such summaries of state assessment results, national, state and local comparisons of student performance

in reading and writing; and subsequently, promote an action by all those present. One crucial step is generating some

outcome targets for the initiative2. Subsequently, a series of working groups can emerge from the summit or meetings that

can set priorities, develop action plans, and facilitate larger strategic planning around this initiative.

Action Plans Based on Assessments of Local Strengths and Needs (An Asset-Based Approach3)

The action plans that emerge from working groups can entail assessing the local strengths and needs of the community

being targeted. In this endeavor, some strengths as well as some glaring needs will certainly be identified in the

community. An asset based approach to community mobilization presumes that challenges are present in communities

Community/organization mobilization for Adolescent Literacy(i.e. elevated aliteracy rates among adolescents) but also affirms that there are numerous unrecognized, untapped

or underutilized assets in a community as well.

A school district, for instance, may have strong parent engagement and/or active community members who could

possibly serve as literacy advocates in the school and neighborhood; local business groups may be willing to

work together to allocate funds to provide stipends for students who can participate in proposed literacy activities;

government officials may be willing to incorporate award ceremonies for youth who demonstrate improved literacy;

and religious leaders may be willing to stress the value of literacy through their sermons or in their congregation

events. These assets can be identified and strategically planned through the deliberate efforts of the stakeholders

involved in the initiative.

Viable Implementation Strategies and Programmatic Structures

The action plans must be converted into viable implementation strategies and programmatic structures. This

entails coordinating and aligning existing services by various stakeholders with each other to meet the proposed

adolescent literacy goals and outcome targets. For instance, a local women’s group asks university faculty to work

with teen mothers on literacy development strategies is one example of aligning services. Another example is, a

local employer establishes a book club or sends employees to trainings at a local school. His employees, in turn,

are required to serve as tutors for younger children in the community. Action plans must incorporate deliberate

planning and strategic action!

Restructuring and Leveraging Local Resources

Utilizing an asset-based approach to community mobilization for adolescent literacy requires identifying the assets

in a community. These assets (i.e. human, social, educational, environmental, monetary, political, etc) should

be leveraged to support your initiative. For instance, the lead organization may discover that there are potential

funds available through a local politician’s office to support a youth initiative that requires the collaboration with

neighborhood schools. Other resources could be restructured and leveraged through neighboring colleges, such

as college students serving as tutors for the initiative, or the use of classroom or meeting space on campus for

activities. Local colleges and universities tend to have service learning options for students which require students

to do community service in turn for academic credit. Many are also open to supporting community-college

collaborations. By bringing together various stakeholders, local resources can be discovered and used to impact

adolescent literacy in a community.

Periodic Evaluation

Once a lead organization’s initiative gets off the ground, there need to be mechanisms for evaluating the efficacy

and viability of your adolescent literacy initiative in a community. It is imperative that evaluation be included in the

strategic planning and budgeting for a community mobilization for adolescent literacy initiative. Clearly defined

outcome targets, solid programmatic structures and effective documentation of activities create fertile ground for

evaluating an initiative’s impact. More importantly, an effective evaluation can help refine programmatic areas, as well

as support fundraising efforts to sustain an initiative over the long term.

See the document Urban League of Champaign County, Community Academic Support Network 2 For more on outcomes see “Project Ready College Access Program User’s Guide”3 For more on asset-based approaches to community initiatives see “Project Ready College Access Program User’s Guide”

Below is a check list of steps that a lead organization should take to develop a community-wide literacy initiative.

CComponent 1:

Strategies for Community/Organizational Mobilization for

Adolescent Literacy

A community effort to address the adolescent literacy crisis can have a

myriad of strategies. Of course, no two communities are alike, nor should

the strategies be the same. Below are some suggestions to help galvanize

a community to increase literacy development:

Create and Expand Awareness, Understanding and Urgency: Print

materials, public information campaigns, religious sermons, billboards

and presentations centered on the adolescent literacy crisis nationally and

locally help to inform a community about the issue.

Provide Leadership, Take the Lead: A lead organization can take the initial

step to organize an education summit, community meetings, and forums to

generate momentum for a community adolescent literacy initiative.

Provide Training and Education: Community-based workshops can be

sponsored or courses developed that train parents/guardians on literacy.

Also, speakers can be invited to address the issue and help inform the

community of viable strategies to combat the adolescent literacy crisis.

Develop, Revise, Enhance Programs and Services: Organizations,

especially a lead organization, should add a literacy component to out-of-

school time programs and youth development activities or seek funding to

develop adolescent literacy programming.

Check List

• Astheleadorganization,gatheranddisseminatedataonthescopeoftheadolescentliteracyproblem.

• Meetone-on-onewithcommunityleaders,schoolofficialsandotherstakeholders/organizationstoidentifysharedinterestsandprovideavisionforhowliteracycanbeintegratedwithothercommunityinitiatives.

• Convenemeetings,forumsorsummitstofurtherbuildcommunityawarenessanddeveloppartnershipsaroundadolescentliteracy.

• Developkeypartnershipswithcommunityleaders,schoolofficialsandotherstakeholders/organizationsthatincorporatestrategicplanningandprogrammaticoutcometargetsforanadolescentliteracyinitiative.

• Periodicallyevaluatetheeffectivenessofthecommunitymobilizationforadolescentliteracyefforts.

4See Mobilizing Communities to Support the Literacy Development of Urban Youth, pg. 31

Copyright© 2008 by the National Urban League. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in whole or in part without written permission from the National Urban League.

Please contact the National Urban League at 120 Wall Street, New York, New York, 10005 USA. T: + 1.212.558.0000, F: +1.212.344.5332, www.nul.org, for information about reprinting and general information about this publication.

Community/organization mobilization for Adolescent Literacy

Below is a check list of steps that a lead organization should take to develop a community-wide literacy initiative.

CComponent 1:

Strategies for Community/Organizational Mobilization for

Adolescent Literacy

A community effort to address the adolescent literacy crisis can have a

myriad of strategies. Of course, no two communities are alike, nor should

the strategies be the same. Below are some suggestions to help galvanize

a community to increase literacy development:

Create and Expand Awareness, Understanding and Urgency: Print

materials, public information campaigns, religious sermons, billboards

and presentations centered on the adolescent literacy crisis nationally and

locally help to inform a community about the issue.

Provide Leadership, Take the Lead: A lead organization can take the initial

step to organize an education summit, community meetings, and forums to

generate momentum for a community adolescent literacy initiative.

Provide Training and Education: Community-based workshops can be

sponsored or courses developed that train parents/guardians on literacy.

Also, speakers can be invited to address the issue and help inform the

community of viable strategies to combat the adolescent literacy crisis.

Develop, Revise, Enhance Programs and Services: Organizations,

especially a lead organization, should add a literacy component to out-of-

school time programs and youth development activities or seek funding to

develop adolescent literacy programming.

Check List

• Astheleadorganization,gatheranddisseminatedataonthescopeoftheadolescentliteracyproblem.

• Meetone-on-onewithcommunityleaders,schoolofficialsandotherstakeholders/organizationstoidentifysharedinterestsandprovideavisionforhowliteracycanbeintegratedwithothercommunityinitiatives.

• Convenemeetings,forumsorsummitstofurtherbuildcommunityawarenessanddeveloppartnershipsaroundadolescentliteracy.

• Developkeypartnershipswithcommunityleaders,schoolofficialsandotherstakeholders/organizationsthatincorporatestrategicplanningandprogrammaticoutcometargetsforanadolescentliteracyinitiative.

• Periodicallyevaluatetheeffectivenessofthecommunitymobilizationforadolescentliteracyefforts.

4See Mobilizing Communities to Support the Literacy Development of Urban Youth, pg. 31

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Community/organization mobilization for Adolescent Literacy